Small Council: Let’s react to the promo trailer for Game of Thrones season 7

HBO released a new promo trailer for Game of Thrones season 7, featuring new footage of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister and a special guest! Do we love it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle. Let’s react all over it.

Also, beware of light SPOILERS.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxWfvtnHtS0

DAN: I loved the promo trailer. First of all, I think it’s a fun novelty that we even got one. We didn’t get something like this for season 6, did we? We had the Hall of Faces teaser, which didn’t involve any actual footage, and then we got the full trailer sometime later. We didn’t get anything like this, something with new footage shot especially for the promo. It’s a great way to bridge the gap.

Okay, tell me if I’m projecting: does Jon not look miserable about being in charge? The whole trailer is about these three characters taking their seats at the table. Dany has that look of steely determination we know so well, Cersei looks like she’s in her element and loving it, and Jon…looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. Maybe I’m reading too deeply into Kit Harington’s resting gloom face, but that’s what I got from it. It would fit, what with Jon always being nominated to positions of authority (whether he wants it or not) whereas Daenerys and Cersei seek them out.

The other big takeaway, for me, is the look at Daenerys’ new throne. I think it’s a great fit for her. It’s stark, it’s severe, it’s intimidating and it just looks really cool. I think she’ll be very happy making sweeping proclamations from that thing.

I didn’t even mind the music this time around, and usually HBO’s choices in the trailers bug me. (Why don’t they just get Ramin Djawadi to write something for the trailers?) I thought it was terrific. How’d the trailer strike you guys?

SARAH: Daenerys has a throne! Cersei has the throne to end all thrones! Jon has…a bench. Poor Jon, always getting the muddy end of the stick.

That said, his seat doesn’t appear to be as inconveniently placed as Dany’s, which looks as if it’s sitting out in the middle of a cave somewhere. Imagine the hilarity when someone tells her that it’s actually the toilet.

I have to agree with Dan: Jon is quite the sourpuss, but that’s no surprise. Nobody can blame him for wanting a quiet life once this is all over. His fake dad is dead, as well as two of his brothers, while Bran and Arya remain MIA. His real dad is A) dead; and B) unknown to him, as is his mother. The woman he loves died in his arms at the hands of a weaselly orphan. He’s spent the last few years living beneath the world’s largest ice cube, risking his life and fighting endless battles against wildlings and demonic zombies. The future of the human race is in his hands and he was literally murdered. Oh, and people are always swearing at him. Seriously. Rewatch seasons 1 – 6 and you’ll see what I mean.

I really enjoyed the teaser. Its message was direct: Cersei has the best catwalk pose. But also that the three powerhouses of Stark, Lannister and Targaryen are finally gearing up to go toe-to-toe, with the ever-terrifying Night King never far from the action.

But back to Cersei. I’m really glad that she was included in this teaser because so many members of our glorious fandom are already counting her out. As a Cersei fan and an avid supporter of her survival to the end of season 8, I was thrilled to see that out of the three of them, she got the last word. It looks as if she’s still got a trick or two up her sleeve. I’ve said it before and I’m sure I’ll say it again: Don’t count her out.

COREY: I think it’s nice that we’re finally getting down to what the show has been teasing for the past six seasons: the invasion of the White Walkers. Yes, we saw each of the three primary monarchs left in Westeros (sorry, Euron) make the long lonely walk to their respective thrones, but as in the first teaser, the White Walkers are the last thing we see. That’s not an accident. Like the first teaser, where all of the house statues crumble, this teaser reinforces the idea that the White Walkers are the primary threat. Hopefully that means season 7 will finally show them making their way past (or through) the Wall.

I also like the symbolism behind each of the monarch’s thrones. Cersei, who has always desired power above all else, has the most striking and imposing throne, the Iron Throne itself. Dany’s throne is unique, but not as gaudy or overbearing as the Iron Throne — it represents both Dany’s desire to rule as a means to make a better world. And last, we have Jon’s simple bench. There could be no clearer representation of Jon’s complete lack of desire to rule than that.

I think having each leader walk to their destinations by themselves was a deliberate choice to illustrate how each of them is ultimately alone. Yes, they have supporters, but the final decisions will always come down to them. Two thumbs up HBO.

RAZOR: I love how HBO just randomly drops a teaser promo for the biggest show in all of television right in the middle of the afternoon. No warning, no fanfare — just drop it and watch the chaos. Really, only HBO could do this and get away with it. The network knows its audience, and knows that anything remotely related to Game of Thrones will be savagely set upon like a pack hungry hounds eating Ramsay’s face. (Too soon? No.)

The teaser is telling us that while there’s going to be strife between the kings and queens of Westeros, in the end it all pales in comparison to the threat of the Night King and his horde undead minions.

As far as the living monarchs in this teaser go, I think our look at Cersei’s refurbished throne room is the standout moment, followed by Daenerys sitting on the Dragonstone throne. At first glance, Jon gets the short end of the stick as far as new digs go — Winterfell never really changes. But that’s what makes it perfect for Jon. He’s half-Stark, and the Starks are steadfast and consistent. While others are adapting to their new worlds, Jon Snow invites us back to a familiar place, somewhere warm and inviting. All hail the King in the North.

RICHARD: Great teaser, once again. HBO is putting their money on atmospherics, and if my spine-tingling has anything to say about it, it’s paying off. Beautifully shot, and while I wasn’t crazy about the music I think it worked just fine. It symbolically portrays the long walk each main character has had to reach their throne and immediately reduces their achievements in light of the threat of the White Walkers. Their human success thus far seems petty in comparison.

Could we say the teaser also states that the three kings and queens, isolated in their new realms, are utterly vulnerable if they can’t find a way to unite against the common foe, and that will be the great question posed in Season 7? A Westerosi house divided against itself cannot stand? Martin/D&D don’t make the path easy, so we can figure that the three leaders will find a way to decimate each other before the White Walkers come over the horizon. We’ll launch into season 8 with the remnants of the human kingdoms finally joining forces in the face of the seemingly overpowering enemy.

As for who gets crushed first? It’s interesting that Cersei is the leader selected to breathe an icy breath, but I don’t think we can read much into that. Everybody had better be sharpening their Valyrian blades and dragonglass.

KATIE: Although it doesn’t give us much to work with on the outset, I love the teaser for its simplicity. It’s foreboding without overdoing it, and intense without any gimmicks. (Granted, we might be able to call the pop music a gimmick, but in my opinion it’s more of a nice touch that captures the mood.)

As most of my fellow writers have pointed out, this footage pits the last great houses against one another. In a time when they need to band together, it looks as though they won’t recognize the bigger picture — at least, not immediately. Jon knows what’s coming, but Cersei and Daenerys will need convincing. It’s no small wonder. After all, the past six seasons have been more or less about the noble families one-upping each other in their quest for the Iron Throne. That tension has spanned generations, and won’t be broken so easily.

Now, the major contenders for the throne are Cersei, who has it; Daenerys, who wants it; and Jon, who would just… rather not. I agree wholeheartedly with Dan and Sarah: Jon is miserable in a position of power. Indeed, that was made rather clear when he was declared King in the North in the season 6 finale. He was all shock and apprehension. Jon can inspire faith and loyalty, and as such he has the makings of a great leader, but he has no desire to be a king.

In fact, I think that showcasing these would-be monarchs in the season 7 teaser suggests that, in the end, none of them will sit the Iron Throne. It’s just a bit too traditional in a story that upends narrative traditions. The dissolution of the throne is a popular fan theory for series’ end, but even if it remains intact, I think the rug will be pulled out from under us with a less obvious character taking that power. My bet’s on Tyrion, who has so often been denied and stripped of power that granting him the ultimate position would nicely suit his arc. But I digress.

Perhaps it’s a bit premature to speculate on season 8 when this is only a season 7 teaser, but the end has to begin somewhere. While the teaser concentrates on the thrones of Westeros, those who will ultimately sit them will have to take on the White Walkers first.